Five stories that have North Texas talking: President Obama makes a quick stop in Dallas to meet with local leaders; two facilities for the 2,000 unaccompanied immigrant children coming to Dallas County aren’t ready; Wichita Falls begins recycling wastewater; and more.
President Barack Obama met with local leaders and Governor Rick Perry in Dallas yesterday to discuss the current immigration crisis. The meeting lasted a little more than an hour, KERA's Shelley Kofler reported this morning.
Perry pushed for better security, and Obama agreed. Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia told The Dallas Morning News the meeting was more of a friendly exchange of ideas. Perry pushed for better security, which Obama agreed.
In the last few months, the number of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has skyrocketed. About 52,000 children have been caught crossing the border this year. Dallas County plans to house 2,000 unaccompanied immigrant children. The White House requested an emergency $3.7 billion from Congress to provide resources to help deal with the unaccompanied children. The President says he asked Perry to use his influence with Texas Republicans to get the bill moving.
- Local school officials say the arrival of unaccompanied immigrant children to Dallas County may be delayed. The county hopes to have housing for 2,000 unaccompanied immigrant children by the end of July, but school officials with Dallas and Grand Prairie ISD told CBS 11 that two of the three proposed facilities are far from ready. The former Lamar Alternative School in Grand Prairie and D.A. Hulcy Middle School in south Dallas haven’t been used in more than a year, and neither school district had plans to use the buildings for anything other than storage.
- Wichita Falls began recycling wastewater yesterday to kick up drinking supplies. KERA’s Shelley Kofler reported on the recycling process back in May, which will purify wastewater that comes from sinks, bathtubs, washing machines, and dishwashers. Although most residents have cut water use by one-third, water supplies are expected to run out in the city in two years. Wichita Falls is currently under a Stage 5 drought catastrophe, which bans outdoor watering. The new program will run for a period of no more than six months.
- A former North Texas comic has impressed Judd Apatow with his impersonations of Seth Rogen and Nick Offerman. Frank Garcia Hejl has been honing his skills as a comic for years, but his series of impersonations on YouTube has been earning him some Internet fame. In one of them, Hejl impersonates Seth Rogen auditioning for Game of Thrones. The impersonation that earned Apatow’s praises was Hejl’s turn playing Rogen in Him, a parody of Her.
- The Asian Film Festival of Dallas kicks off tonight at the Angelika Film Center. The eight-day festival will showcase some of the best in Asian cinema. The Big Screen team sat down with AFFD founder Stephen Carlton to talk about some of the films, including a Japanese film that really isn’t a film. Tickets are still available.
